Struck
by whatfear
Summary: I wish I saw it coming. I wish I knew what was to come over me. But she hit me like a ton of bricks. This is a story of how she came into my life and shook my very existence by storm-in ways I would've never foreseen. Brittany comes into Santana's life.AU


**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters.**

**Struck**

* * *

><p>I wish I saw it coming.<p>

I wish I knew what was to come over me. But she hit me like a ton of bricks. Like a thief she stole what I once thought of as mine.

This is a story of how she came into my life and shook my very existence by storm-in ways I would have never foreseen.

* * *

><p>First off, let me introduce you to myself.<p>

My grades were between average and distinctions. I could easily score straight A's if I _really _wanted to. But why stand out? Especially stand out _academically._ There's already _so_ much to handle in high school. Okay, so that was the excuse I gave to my parents. In was a half-truth, to be fair. Yeah, I knew I had the brains, I was just too lazy to put in the effort.

I didn't do sports. I liked the idea very much, but actually doing it..yeah, no thanks. Besides, I don't have the time nor the energy for any long-term training for such things. What do I like? Let's see, you can say that I live, eat and breathe music. I couldn't live without hearing the strings on the guitar, I feel as if the rhythm of the drum beats match how my heart pulsates. The melodies formed from piano keys or the sound of violins could bring me to another place where only I knew of. My room's situated in the basement of my house, so I can blast my music pretty much as loud as I want and that thought always brings a smile to my face as it does right now as I recount. I do skate sometimes, if that counts as a sport. I pretty much built a mini-ramp in my basement by myself-an achievement I actually am proud of.

Then, well I guess you could say I had a pretty alright social life. No, I wasn't a social butterfly, I was never as extroverted as I seemed. I was cordial and polite as they come-raised that way-but I pretty much keep to myself most of the time. Not that anyone knew. For all they know, I got along with almost everybody and was fairly easy to talk to. I tried to stay neutral in any given situation, never choosing a 'side' whenever conflicts were raised. I didn't like getting on people bad sides. People knew who I was. I had a bunch of friends I hung out with at school. I just _'fit'_ with them, you know? Stereotypically, I mean, not emotionally or whatever. I never once felt like I connected with anyone in my supposed _"clique"._ I never did, not with anyone. They never knew about my love for music, they never knew of my apathy towards trivial high school conversations about high school dances or the daily gossip. I just pretend to act interested but sometimes I just hide the fact that I have my earphones plugged in under my hot pink beanie. I pretend to not see the fact that the boyfriend of the girl currently filling me in with the details of a certain new blonde transfer was checking out my rack even when they were pretty much hidden under my _Strokes_ tee. I felt like life was leading me through the motions by the sneakers, leading me where it may until something actually interesting happened.

_That's _when I saw her.

It was weird, it was as if we'd met before in some weird alternate universe. _Weird._ From anyone's view, she looked like your average quirky blonde trying challenge your resident quirky boho-chic wannabe...chick(?) with her quirky sense of style. But she was different. Something about this girl intrigued me-the way she starts to address people as they walk by her, the way she walked in a seemingly fast pace yet it was so graceful, how her bag was covered with little ducks and that she was wearing leg warmers without it being winter yet. Watching her mannerisms from afar made me smile to myself; a genuine smile in what seemed like forever. Cassie, the girl that was talking to me, noticed and began to wonder if I was alright. I shook my daze and I could immediately catch her boyfriend stop himself from checking out my ass through my denim shorts as I turned back to them. I mentally scoffed at how _discreet_ the boy could be, but decided that he wasn't worth it and even felt bad for Cassie for being with such a jerk. I just wanted to get the day over with.

_Rrrringgggg! _The symbolic start of another new school year in William McKinley High School.

Saved by the bell.

* * *

><p>I rushed to the first period of the day, Math Class, just to get away from Cassie + pervertboyfriend and to secure my seat-back of the class, less noisy and less chance to be called on by the teacher, Mr. Collins. I could fall asleep back there as he droned on and on and _on_ about quadratic equations or the laws of logarithms _yet again_ and still get a good grade. Sometimes I wonder about the point of coming to school. Anyway, another story for another time. Just as I was about to unlock my iPod and resume listening to the new Sigur Ros album, I saw a familiar flash of blonde.

"Ah, the new girl! Go, find an empty seat! There's one at the back!" sputtered a little too enthusiastically by Mr. Collins, not at all suiting his old wrinkly face and grey hair.

Just as I was mentally judging and poking fun of the way Mr. Collins seemed overeager over a new student, I realised by _'empty seat at the back'_ he meant the one next to me. All of a sudden I started feeling a little nervous and fumbled my things I left around on the table she was about to make her way towards. Amidst all the fumbling, I dropped my pen and I hoped my blush wasn't seen through my olive skin. I internally cursed myself on how clumsy I must appear to be.

"Hi, I'm Brittany. Brittany Susan Pierce to be formal," she chuckled a little over this, "I'm new here and I guess I'll be sitting beside you for the rest of the semester. It's nice to meet you," she took out a hand, initially her left but she corrected herself with her right almost immediately and smiled with her cheeks meeting her eyes.

"Santana. Santana Lopez. Welcome to McKinley and it's nice to meet you too," I reciprocated the handshake and couldn't resist a smile forming from watching her mannerisms. Others might find it weird, but somehow I find it refreshing and somewhat endearing. Immediately I soften, all thoughts of how she'd judge me forgotten and I was sure she was someone who didn't care about appearances or any of the shallow prejudices a teenager our age would usually assume on others.

"I know who you are," she quipped as I furrowed my brows and then she smiled, saying "there's this boy called Jacob Ben Israel that started to come up to me as I walked in the hallway introducing himself and tried to fill me in with all the happenings in this school, he talked _so_ much in one minute I couldn't keep up," she started to giggle, "but one of the things I did catch from all that clique-hopping was when he mentioned you and how you were the resident indie/hippie/anything-goes chick. What does that even mean, I have no idea. I think you're more than that. And you seem nice," she opinionated, smiling at me. It was so genuine, her smile. I didn't believe anyone could do that. At least not so many times in a day. Either that she was just really friendly or really genuine. I think it might be both.

I realised how I must seem like as if I'm incapable of speech then started to speak, "Oh..yeah well, as much as I hate the whole stereotyping thingy, I get that stereotype a lot, well more like a mash-up of stereotypes, I guess," offering a lop-sided smile accompanied by a shrug.

"What would you stereotype me as, then? Just for fun, I'm kinda curious," she winked and chuckled, catching me off-guard by her question.

"Well," I scratched my head through my beanie, "just for fun," I repeated, for clarification, "I guess you seem kinda athletic, long legs and all," I mumbled as I scanned her top to bottom, "a cheerleader?" I tried, shoulders hunched, giving her a toothed smile as compensate for the obviousness of the stereotype.

"I guess the blonde hair doesn't help, huh?" she smiled, though her eyes seemed a little distant this time round. "I was a cheerleader at my old school. Predictable, isn't it? But it was kinda more of like a cover-up for something I was really passionate about though."

"Well, I think you're entitled a chance to prove you're not necessarily just what people classify you as, to prove that you're more than what they perceive you to be." I surprised myself at how wise that actually sounded. Did I myself even believe half of what I just said? Was I possessed? Some talk for someone who tries to stay under the radar. Was watching Star Wars Saga marathons frequently making me soak in some of Master Yoda's wisdom? Before I could internally smack myself for sounding like a smartass, albeit unintentionally, Brittany started to shift in her place. My nerves began to come over me again.

"Yeah.." she began, "yeah, I think you're right," she nodded in agreement while still distant, then she looked right at me. I could feel the intensity of her bright blue eyes gazing right at my own brown orbs.

For what seemed like eternity, we continued our locked gaze until the bell for the next lesson rang.

"You're right, Santana. Completely right."

As the class started to get up, antsy to leave the droning classroom, we stayed there for a moment longer before I began to hear my name being called by one of my _'friends'_ outside.

"See you around, San, I'm really glad to have met you." Again. That smile.

Somehow I began to think that this year wasn't going to be the same as the previous years.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Continue?<p> 


End file.
